


The Bender To End All Benders

by LaRoisBeaute



Category: Avengers, IronStrange - Fandom, Marvel, Stephen Strange - Fandom, Tony Stark - Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Car Accident, Drugs, Grief, Loss, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 12:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16954233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaRoisBeaute/pseuds/LaRoisBeaute
Summary: Stephen Strange has been his rock since the beginning. He's been through every aspect of Tony's life since as long as the billionaire could remember. Though a devastating accident leaves Tony alone, confused, angry, and unable to process his grief properly.The timeline Starts February 2015. This is pre Age of Ultron.Later Chapters include heavy drug and alcohol use, as well as graphic sexual content.





	The Bender To End All Benders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A devastating accident leaves Tony Stark with a painful reality.

“You wouldn’t believe the look on his face, Tone-“ the doctor’s voice chuckled out, the soft almost nonexistent rumble of his Lamborghini being heard behind his voice. 

Another voice came clear from the other side of the speakers, “Sounds like you humiliated he poor guy….I’m so proud!” The billionaire laughed out, sounds of a party in the distance filling his background. He was stood on the balcony, away from everyone else for now, phone to his ear as he watched the sky line like a Love-sick puppy, storm clouds off in the distance.

Stephen had asked Tony to come along to his talk tonight. He’d been asked to be the guest of honor at a Neurological Society’s dinner and he wanted more than anything for his husband to be there. Usually the billionaire openly accompanied his partner to such events, loving flaunting Stephen’s achievements. But tonight, Stark was at his own event that Pepper had arranged. The whole purpose of the party was just trying to smooze some wealthy ambassadors. Tony had tried to push it off, tell Pepper to reschedule, but his assistant insisted that it couldn’t wait. 

So the two were apart tonight, much to both of their dismay. 

Stephen had turned off the main highway now and was on a thin mountain pass. As he drove, the arrogant man had one hand on 2:00, and the other resting on his cheek with that elbow resting where the window met the door. It was usually how he drove, one handed and comfortable with his vehicle, especially as he cooly passed over double yellows like they were nothing.

“So how’s your little dinner party going then? Make any new friends?” Stephen asked with a relaxed tone, eyes watching the road as he whizzed past the occasional car actually going the speed limit. Too slow for him, really. Besides, no harm done passing them. While he loved to talk about himself, he’d rather listen to Stark talk even more. And well, since he couldn’t have his spouse by his side, this would have to suffice for now. Though the doctor really wished the other was there so he could casually slide a steady hand up Tony’s thigh. 

“Fine. Really nothing interesting, you’ve been to these things with me before. You know how they go.” Tony said tentatively, humming lightly as he glanced at Pepper who was glaring at him through the glass door, tapping her watch. The billionaire sighed audibly and waved the other off, he wasn’t done talking to his doctor. The neurosurgeon only nodded to himself with a soft chuckle. A rumble of thunder came from his end of the line, followed quickly by soft pellets of water smacking against his windshield. Soon enough, the rain started to speed up, getting heavier and heavier, causing Stephen to turn on his windshield wipers with an annoyed huff. 

“Raining?” Tony asked softly, just wanting to hear the other’s voice. He was stalling really. He should probably go appease Pepper and his guests but Stephen was much more important to him. 

“Obviously-“ Stephen tsked before snickering lightly. “No harm-“ there was a chime that went off, interrupting the doctor’s words. “Hang on- Billy’s just sent an MRI through. Better be worth my time or I swear-“ he shook his head to himself, his eyes beginning to dart back and forth between the road and his phone. 

Tony’s stomach twisted lightly. By the sound of the weather on Stephen’s end, he wasn’t fond of the fact that the other was supposedly driving distracted now. Normally, Tony would only grumble at the distraction, only caring when Stephen did it because he didn’t want anything to happen. The billionaire himself, however, did it all the time, much to the dismay of the doctor in return. 

“Babe- you know I’m not a stick in the mud for saying this but maybe you should focus on the road-“ His voice came out a bit more nervous than he wanted to, he having to clear his throat. “Just want you home in one piece is all….or else the sex would be fuckin weird-“ he snickered to himself before grimacing, shaking that thought away. Stephen let out a soft chuckle, noticing the nerve in the other’s voice. He was coming up on another car, though his eyes still darted to his phone. His voice came out smooth and calm, no worries to be found to help ease the other’s nerves. 

“Tones. I’m fine, I do this all the time. I’m a professional.” The sound of his engine could be heard speeding up over the phone. Stephen’s eyes were still switching between the two subjects. That only lasted so long though as his gaze was now looking over the x-ray in a bit more depth, his face twisted in focus. Stark took in a deep breath, nodding to himself. 

“I know you are Steph but seriously be ca-“

He couldn’t even get the words out as he was interrupted by the slamming of metal, the shriek of tires, his lover shouting out an exasperated and panicked; ‘fuck!’ Tony’s froze where he stood, he could feel his chest tightening up, and his breath getting rapid as he increasingly felt like he couldn’t actually breath. The sound on the other end of the phone wasn’t pretty. There was another loud series of contouring metal and smashing as, unbeknownst to Tony, the doctor’s Lamborghini went smashing down the side of a mountain. Before Tony knew it, the signal cut out and he was left with practical silence, the soft thump of the party being the only noise around, though he didn’t even hear it. He was too stunned. 

“St-Stephen….” he muttered, his free hand flying and gripping at his chest. He couldn’t breath now. He was trembling, tears dropping down his cheeks as he stared blankly ahead. 

“St-…..STEPHEN?!”

The only response he got was silence.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony Stark found himself sat in a clean looking waiting room, body hunched forward leaning on his knees and head in hands. His leg shook quietly, the heel of his Burberry derby shoe clicking lightly against the linoleum, his heart pounding in his ears. At the soft sound of a click, the genius's head shot up to look at the oncoming figure. A woman in her late 30’s approached and took a seat in the empty chair next to the man, taking in a deep breath as she looked her new company over. Pushing a stray strand of strawberry blonde fly hairs back behind her ear, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Mister Stark. I’m Dr. Christine Palmer, I wo-”

“I know who you are, Dr. Palmer.” his words sharply cut her off as his body shifted to face her back straightening as he did so. His hands wrung between one another anxiously. She knew she was stalling. The tear stains on her reddened face told Tony all he needed to know. But she needed to say it. He needed to hear it.

“Right...my apologies. I-”

“Is he going to be alright?” the question finally came forward, almost snapped out of Tony’s lips in desperation. His eyes watched her’s, catching the quick glance away and the liquid welling up under them. His stomach twisted.

“Mister Stark…..your husband..didn’t survive the accident...he was killed o…..” she was still speaking, but all Tony could hear was ringing. A high pitched noise that started low and grew only to drone his company out. His eyes were staring at her, but he couldn’t see. The world went dark around him as the pounding in his ears grew louder and louder. His mind had gone blank.

“....r. Stark? Mister Stark?” a hand on Tony’s brought him back, the voice coming into focus. Quickly, he recoiled as his eyes readjusted on the doctor, expression blank in shock.

“C-....Can I see him?” he asked lightly, almost as if he hadn’t understood Stephen was gone. Of course he had though, but maybe there was a chance. Maybe she said something he didn’t hear. He needed to see him. Christine seemed overly hesitant to allow that, but slowly she conceded. 

“Sure...But i have to warn you he-.....It’s not a pretty sight-..” her voice cracked as she spoke, clearly remembering the body she had left in the other room. Though the look in Tony’s eyes showed he didn’t care. Both stood slowly at the same time and the doctor took the lead. As they walked, all Tony could hear was the click of his heels against the pristine floor, heart pounding as he moved through the familiar walls. He’d been here before, plenty of times, usually to pick up Strange, or just to pop by for a quick hello and drop off a snack for the often overworked neurosurgeon. He never thought this is where he’d have to say goodbye too.

Dr. Palmer stopped at a door, freezing with her hand on the handle. Looking to Stark, her lips pursed and her expression dulled. She knew what it looked like behind this door. But he was impatient. The billionaire pushed her aside and opened the handle himself, and once the object was out of his view, his gaze rested on the body. His breath hitched and his heart nearly stopped, the ringing returning and drowning out Christine’s attempt at condolences. It was his turn to freeze.

She was right. The cadaver was mangled, almost barely recognizable. The blood had been cleaned a decent amount but the skin was still stained. There was a blanket pulled up to the body's midsection, hiding who knows what other damage. There was a large spot of pushed skin peeking from the top of the blanket, clearly where there had been an impalement wound, the rest covered in various scratches and cuts from glass and pieces of plastic and metal. The face was hardly a face, one side ripped to shreds where it had come in contact with the windshield, various cuts spread around the other side. The hair was matted and bloodied. It was hardly Stephen Strange at all.

As his mind came forward to the situation, he took his first steps forward. Slow, but quickly gaining until he practically fell at Stephen’s side, arms wrapping over top of him and head burring into the bodie’s side. The feeling against his skin was like ice. His heart was clenching and he felt like he couldn't breathe, his body shaking involuntarily. Slowly, Tony picked his head up to look at the other’s face close up. Lips twisting into a crooked and pained smile, he croaked out;

“Alright douchebag- Ni-Nice prank- You can stop now-”

Silence. His lips pursed as he could feel the sting at his eyes, the clench of his throat.

“Cmon- K-Knock it off-” he hissed out, pulling himself to stand, eyes never leaving the other. He was searching for any sign of life, anything. The billionaire shook the body absently. 

“P-Please-..” he tried, the first tears dropping down his face. The neurosurgeon didn't move. Tony let out a pain laugh before losing it, head dropping and burying itself in Stephen’s shoulder, hands gripping quickly and frantically at the body to try and steady himself. But he was gone, a full blown sob escaping him as it was all setting in. Stephen was gone, actually and literally. The one man he’d let himself love was gone in the blink of an eye. Just like that.

Christine left the room, letting her own set of tears escape her once she was gone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was an hour later, give or take, when someone finally returned to the room. The billionaire had calmed down, had pulled up a chair and everything. Though his head was still buried into the bodies shoulder, arms still wrapped around it tightly, but he was silent.

Doctor Palmer had come back, but accompanied by Stark’s personal assistant. Pepper could feel her heart clenched at the sight, having to look away at first from the grotesqueness of the corpse. She gave a soft nod to the doctor before moving in. Slowly, Potts placed a hand between the prominent shoulder blades of Tony’s hunched back. He didn’t move, only let out quiet sob against the body under him. 

“Tony….it's time to go home..” Her voice range over the silent room like a bell to Stark’s ears, despite she having whispered her words. His whole body physically cringed, tensing up at the idea of leaving the love of his life. It still hadn’t really set in that Stephen wasn’t in there anymore. 

“H-_How much will it cost to fix him…?” The billionaire's voice piped up, crackling and worn from how much he had been sobbing. Pepper’s brows furrowed softly as she took in a deep breath. 

“I don’t thin-”

“Then don’t think-” he hissed, shaking his head slightly though careful not to move too much as if it would hurt Stephen. “Just- find out.”

“No- Tony I-...It’s not possible- Stephen’s gone- h,e’s been gone for hours-” Her voice hitched, hating seeing this for both the sake a good friend was gone, as well as seeing Tony so broken. This caused Tony’s head to raise, eyes shut though is face stared forward. He took in a slow and calming breath.

“I’m a billionaire- they make shit happen for billionaires.” He started, turning to look at Pepper now. His cheeks were tear stained and his eyes irritated, eyebrows knitted together in a sort of determination. “Buy the hospital. Make them find a way to bring him back.” Tony commanded firmly.

“Tony-....” Pott’s lips pursed together as she looked over his features sadly. “No….I’m sorry, he’s gone-” Tony scoffed. 

“Go get Palmer. I’ll talk to someone with more reason-” it was a simple command as he returned his attention back to the cadavre. Pepper was going to protest, tell him he was being ridiculous, but then she remembered it was Tony. He wouldn’t take her word for it, not now when she wasn’t the professional here. After a long pause, the ginger woman turned on her heels and walked out of the room. Now that he was alone again, Stark rested his hand against the part of Stephen's cheek that was still intact. A pained smile on pursed lips as he sighed lightly. “I’ll fix you..”

It was only a few minutes later when the door opened again, this time Christine leading the way with Pepper behind her, though the assistant waited by the door as the doctor approached Tony. Stark had already noticed them coming in and had stood, his business facade sweeping over his essence as he turned to face Christine.

“Mr. Stark-...Miss Potts has informed me you want to try and revive Stephen?” he asked, concern laced in her features and her voice as she looked up at the man. 

“Yeah, I don’t see why not. Stitch him up, shock him a bit, can’t be too hard. How much will it cost?” The cool air around the engineer was almost chilling. He spoke with such ease as if there wasn’t his dead husband behind him. Christine could feel her skin crawl just listening to him, watching how he operated. She tsked lightly in a sympathetic fashion.

“Mr. Stark- he can’t be revived...He’s been brain dead for hours- a-and and even if there was someway to repair his body, his mind is gone. It would be too damaged for him to even exist properly-....He wouldn’t even be cognitive- Tissue has already started decaying- and…” she realised she started to go on a bit of a tangent, not looking at Stark for most of it, instead looking at her hands that moved as she spoke. Though now that she stopped, Palmer’s eyes slowly moved to look at the man. His expression was broken, the facade cracking with every one of her words. “Tony-....I cant-....he’s gone- Stephen isn’t coming back-” Those words were hard for even her to say, but she had to stay firm for his sake.

It took him a moment of nothingness, a blank face as empty eyes stared forward as the words were working their way through his system. It was setting in, the fact that maybe money and science can’t solve everything. Though it was a hard lesson to understand. Everything else in his life could be solved with those two things, he lived by those two things. But death couldn’t be fixed. Tony turned to look back at Stephen’ eyes running cooly over the body, heart pounding in his chest despite his exterior facade. 

“He’s gone...” he muttered, reaching out and running a trembling hand over the body’s chest before moving to the face and the little bit of hair that wasn’t matted down with dry blood. He was taking in the image one last time, holding himself together which he thought he was doing quite good at. The two women in the room though would have different opinions as they were watching Tony very visibly shaking where he stood. The brunette was too far into his head to even notice. Leaning in, he pressed a long kiss to the intact piece of his husband’s forehead, tears dropping from closed eyes and falling onto the freezing skin. Taking in a slow breath, Tony stood up and turned around calmly, tho anyone could tell how forced it was.

“What’s the code to get up to the roof?” Tony asked simply, eyes staring at the door though his words were aimed at the Doctor. Christine looked shocked and hesitant which Stark saw out of his peripherals. He tsked lightly; “Not to kill myself, Dr. Palmer. If i was going to do that, It wouldn't be throwing myself off the roof of your hospital-” his tone was cold, sending ice down her spine. “I’m taking the suit home- no doubt the press is out front anyways-...” This relaxed the strawberry blonde woman and she gave a small nod. 

“R-Right….You know where the elevator up is...the code is 9782..” Her words were simple. She opened her mouth to express more condolences but Tony was already walking away. He said nothing to Pepper as he exited out the hall and briskly walked towards the employee elevator. The billionaire entered it, swiftly punching in the code and heading up. He’d been up to the room plenty of times with Stephen, having little lunch breaks up there now and again. It was usually quiet, the hospital not often having to break out it’s helicopter, and it was always nice in the summer. 

Though as he stepped out today, the cold February breeze hit his cheeks, slicing through his hollow body like a knife. The roof was lit by the setting moonlight of the early morning along with the lights of the city radiating from below and all around it. His chest tightened at the familiarity of the scene in front of him, memories flashing behind his eyes of every time he’d been brought up here by his husband. He had to swallow back a wave of tears creeping their way up, a hand gripping lightly at his chest as it tightened. Anxiety crept in, his heart thumping heavily under his hand as he walked silently across the roof. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small bluetooth he’d created and placed it inside his ear.

“Jarvis…” he spoke lightly, as if raising his volume anymore would break the fragile air around him. He’d made it to the ledge of the building now, leaning on it and looking down at the ground that felt so far away. He stared at it longingly, as if meeting it would solve all his problems.

“Sir?” the voice responded in his ear. Pursing his lips, Stark shifted slightly where he stood, eyes still staring down. In the next moment, he hauled himself up onto the wall. Starting from a crouch, shakily he stood trying to get his balance as the wind ripped past him silently and threatened to topple him. His stomach turned instinctively, skin crawling at the desire to flee off his new perch, though his mind was completely empty as it staed. 

“Catch me.” Tony spoke softly, whole body leaning forward as he did. The quick rush of air is all the billionaire could hear as his body lifelessly fell from the top of the building. His stomach was in knots like he could vomit any minute, heart pounding as adrenaline rushed through his whole body. His eyes were shut absently as he took in the decenst, unaware of his proximity to the ground, or the increasing sound of approaching thrusters. 

As quickly as it started, it was over as he felt the familiar warm metal encasing him, lightly flashing awake into his shut lids. They opened now, seeing the world through a shining screen. Activating the suit fully, the billionaire caught himself moments before the ground could catch him first. People on the ground had been watching, making a space for the man to land with horrified looks. A silence seem to fall over the street as the iron man steadied himself in that space, head swiveling around to look at the pedestrians. With a soft nod, he was off as quick as he arrived, jets sending a soft blast of air over the crowd as he disappeared into the night sky.


End file.
